The Good Stuff

The survey on which cask beers you like and dislike has now closed. There were 52 individual responses in total. Obviously this takes a bit of work to analyse, so I’ll present “The Good” today and “The Bad” hopefully tomorrow.

So here are the results of “Name up to three cask beers that you regard as good examples of the genre and that you would happily recommend to others.” Number 1 was perhaps not a total surprise, but Dark Star Hophead made a strong showing in second place and Taylors Landlord in third. Bear in mind that the responses were entirely unprompted.

As you will see later, quite a few of these beers also feature on the other list.

Incidentally, I now have 99 followers, so one more to bring it up to the round 100 would be nice :-)

13 Votes: Thornbridge Jaipur IPA

10 Votes: Dark Star Hophead

7 Votes: Taylors Landlord

5 Votes: Fullers London Pride

4 Votes:
Harveys Sussex Best Bitter
Oakham Citra
St Austell Tribute

3 Votes:
St Austell Proper Job
Robinsons Old Tom

2 Votes:
Adnams Broadside
Bathams Best Bitter
Black Sheep Bitter
Brakspear Bitter
BrewDog Edge
Copper Dragon Golden Pippin
Dark Star American Pale Ale
Deuchars IPA
Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted
Jennings Snecklifter
Kelham Island Pale Rider
Marble Lagonda IPA
Marble Manchester Bitter
Marble Pint
Oakham JHB
Pictish Brewers Gold
Thornbridge Kipling
Thornbridge Wild Swan
Wadworths 6X

1 Vote:
Abbey Ales Bell Ringer
Anything by Dark Star
Anything by Hook Norton
Anything by Oakham
Anything by Thornbridge
Arbor Ales Oyster Stout
Arundel Mild
Bowman Swift One
Brains Dark
Brains SA Gold
BrewDog Grain Cask
BrewDog Paradox
Brimstage Oystercatcher Stout
Bristol Beer Factory Stout
Butcombe Bitter
Buxton Axe Edge IPA
Camden Inner City Green
Castle Rock Harvest Pale
Dark Star Hopstar
Dunham Massey Stout
Eastwood and Sanders 1872 Porter
Everards Beacon Bitter
Everards Tiger
Flowerpots Perridge Pale
Fullers Bengal Lancer
Fullers London Porter
Fyne Ales Jarl
Grain India Pale Ale
Great Oakley Welland Valley Mild
Hardknott aether bleac
Harveys 1859 Porter
Harveys Hadlow
Harveys Old
Hawkshead Lakeland Gold
Hobsons Mild
Hogs Back TEA
Holts Bitter
Holt's IPA
Holts Mild
Hook Norton Old Hooky
Humpty Dumpty Porter
Ilkley Mary Jane
Kelham Island Easy Rider
Liverpool Organic Josephine Butler Elderflower Ale
Liverpool Organic Shipwreck IPA
Marble Dobber
Morland Old Speckled Hen
Old Dairy Brewery Blue Top
Old Dairy Brewery Gold Top
Ossett Citra
Otter Bitter
Phoenix Wobbly Bob
RedWillow Wreckless
Sam Smiths OBB
Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild
Sharps Doom Bar
Southport Golden Sands
Titanic White Star
Triple fff Pressed Rat and Warthog
Ufford White Hart
Wadworths Horizon
Wells Bombardier
Woodfordes Wherry
Wye Valley Butty Bach
Wye Valley HPA
Yorkshire Dales Muker Silver

SCREWED BY WESTERN PROGRESS

I reckon that if Brazil really wanted to protect these tribes the last thing they should have done was to point out where they live to predators from the so-called "civilised" world which savages and morphs alternative cultures into one dismissive irrelevance.



In this case, it appears the drug traffickers want the natives' land but there have also been moves to enforce western civilisation on Amazonian tribes - for their own good of course - in the name of "progress."



I hope these missing people who have so far been allowed to live their lives their way are safe but it doesn't seem likely given what they are up against either from the drug cartels or land developers.



On their own they do just fine without the aid of modern medicine and healthcare as documented in the report linked above into the health of indigenous people not yet shafted by modern life. It reveals the obvious answer on how to ensure these tribes stay healthy in the future.



"...the importance of land, and the need to make their own decisions about their own way of life and futures, is fundamental to all tribal people."





In other words. Just leave them alone, get off their land, don't force them to accept the Western way of life and don't go pointing them out to the rest of the world for exploitation.



Our own Govt which is in pursuit of Citizen happiness would do well to take note that the best way to achieve it is to stop the social engineering of our lifestyles. In other words. Just leave us alone.



I noted in the report that tribal people tend to be healthier than westerners and happier than billionaires. They don't get cancer and other diseases of the modern age. Of course, the authors also put their natural longevity down to the fact that these natives don't smoke or drink alcohol or eat junk food.



However, that seemed odd to me because as they are from the same kind of ancient heritage as Native Americans, who had their land and culture largely obliterated by Westerners, I would have thought that tobacco was also an important part of their way of life.



And so it is for both spiritual and medicinal reasons.



Tobacco is one of the most important plants in the lives of all tribes of the northwest Amazon (Wilbert, 1987). It's many names include lukux-ri (Yukuna); ye'-ma (Tariana); a'-li (Bare); e'-li (Baniwa); mu-lu', pagári-mulé (Desano); kherm'-ba (Kofán); dé-oo-wé (Witoto) It plays a part in curative rituals, in important tribal ceremonies and it is occasionally used as a recreational drug. In its various forms it is also employed in the ordinary medical practices of some tribes.



It seems they don't smoke a lot of it - but then they don't have the stress of modern life - but they do use it recreationally in snuff form.



I think I'd rather be a smoking Native than a Western smoker but life has a shit way of dealing what you get.



At least living in the UK, I don't have to run for my life ... errrr ... unless I've lived in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Liverpool or even leafy Gloucester these last few days.

WAR!

This was one of the most striking images from last night's London riots. It's impossible not to feel for the residents and businesses there who have lost everything in a night of unjustified anarchy.



I sat and watched and listened to various opinions on why it happened but from what I can see there is only one cause. War has been declared on those who have something by those who think they can take what they like.



The predatory image of an injured young man being fleeced by scum that pretended to help and then just guided him into a position where he could be robbed and taken advantage of turned my stomach.







This disorder is nothing to do with any political cause. Govt buildings would have been the target if it was. Instead, high value clothing, electrical and communication goods stores as well as private residences were targeted.



Back in the 1980s, there were valid reasons for the rioting that was confined to specific areas where people were suffering. 100 years ago the industrial riots that started in London and spread around the rest of the UK in a similar fashion to those of today, began with genuine grievances but the cause was hijacked by hooligans who looted and smashed and burned because they could.



Will David Cameron - now he's back from sunny Tuscany - call in the Army as Winston Churchill did as Home Secretary a century ago? I guess we'll have to wait and see but he's certainly not talking about hugging the hoodies involved at least.



* The riots that took place in Lincoln began on August 18 ,1911 and ended on August 21, 1911.* Part of the reason that the City raged with uncontrollable violence was because the chief politicians - the Mayor and Town Clerk - were away on holiday in the exotic climes of Sutton on Sea and Conwy. With 5,000 rioters to contend with, the City Police Force of less than 50 officers, with all leave cancelled, were grossly outnumbered. A contingent that cycled from Grimsby to help the city force arrived just after the Army restored control without a single bullet being fired. The sound of bayonets being fixed was enough to disperse the crowd.



* Correction made. See comments.